All posts for the month February, 2015

I know that normal I post publication opportunities on Saturdays but I saw this thing online that was too cool to not post. Hugh Herr had a Ted Talk last year about his work on the next generation of prosthetics. Just seeing the gif set of the video was amazing and I’m sure will inspire you to watch the full Ted Talk. It’s like we’re inching closer and closer to the replacement hands that half the Star Wars characters are walking around with. Write a scene that features a character who’s life could be changed by this technology.

I’ve made a new enemy at work! Like most of my enemies he doesn’t know about it. You know the old saying “keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer.” That’s how I roll with my enemies so that I can slowly destroy their self-esteem. Okay, I’m mostly being over dramatic. He’s not really my enemy and I won’t be destroying him, but he did piss me off and I will take my aggression out on him in my imagination so that I can stay professional in the office. So BTs do you have any similar situations at your work? Write a poem about the revenge you would take if you didn’t have to remain professional.

I follow a blog on Tumblr called Suddenly Prompts, which is similar to my morning Quick Prompts on twitter. They post short but odd sentences to inspire their followers to start writing. Their style is a little different than mine; their sentences sound a little like excerpts from the story you’re about to write. Sort of a “steal this sentence and see what you can write from it” situation. For today’s prompt check out Suddenly Prompts and find a few of their posts that stand out to you. Write something based off of your favorite one. You don’t actually have to keep the sentence from them in your scene or story if it evolves beyond that line. See if any of the prompts organically fit into whatever your current project is.

Write a poem about bad decisions. How often do you make them? Do you know that they’re bad ideas in the moment or do you have to wait for the consequences to be sure? Think back to your most recent bad decision, like the sixth shot you drank even though you started the night telling yourself that your limit was four. What are the consequences for this decision? Can you take it back or do you simply have to live with the choice you made? And of course the biggest question of all, was it worth it? Will your poem be warning people away from making the same mistake or can it become a funny tale that you share with others.

Those of you that are creatures of the internet like myself have probably already seen gifs from this series, Adult Wednesday Addams. The episode about cat-calling has gotten really popular. The rest of the series has had a lot of funny moments too though. As with most web series, the episodes are short and you could easily catch up on the series in no time. I like the idea of telling stories about a character’s life outside of the time of their life that was featured in their original series. Take inspiration from Adult Wednesday Addams, write a few short scenes of your character at a later time in their life than the time your main story takes place. Unless you’re planning to kill this character in the main story, in which case there is now later time except for exploring afterlife stuff. If this is the case and you’re not into the whole afterlife thing write scenes from earlier in your character’s life.

I’m looking at my desk and seeing how dirty things can get in just a few days. I mean I just cleaned this thing and already it’s dusty. It probably doesn’t help that I have two cats contributing their hair to all the dust. But enough about my desperate need to swiffer. Write about the filth in your life. What is that spot you always mean to clean but never get around to. Or that you know you cleaned not to long ago and it’s already dirty again. Write about how the whole world is actually made of dirt and how it’s impossible to keep it clean. Or write about metaphoric dirtiness if you aren’t at all bothered by the literal kind.

Sebastian Errazuriz’s collection “12 Shoes For 12 Lovers” is a set of artistic women’s shoes inspired by women from his life. I’ve posted the shoes below, each of them comes with its own story. To read them check out the article on BoredPanda. I’ve left off the stories because I don’t want them to sway you from creative your own stories or characters inspired by these shoes. Write a character that would wear one of these shoes. What does it say about her personality?

Write a poem about traveling. Is it something that you love to do and look forward to doing whenever you get the chance? Or is it all one giant pain in your ass? Either way there is plenty to write about. You can romanticize your destinations and write about the once in a life time experiences. Or you can write about the turbulence that made the baby in the seat directly behind you cry for your entire flight. If you’ve never been able to travel before write about how what you think it would be like.

Turkish artist, Hasan Kale has created paintings so incredible I have trouble believing that they are real. He painted full landscapes on a variety of bite size foods. Check out the pictures below and begin your inevitable obsession with his tiny paintings. Inspired by his by these miniature landscapes, write a scene or story that takes place on a small scale. Be it a Honey I Shrunk the Kids situation or you write the story of life under a microscope is up to you. I’m sure you’ll come up with something cool BTs.

Write a poem about what you think is the best piece of advice you could give. I think that my favorite example of this is Shel Silverstein’s “Listen to the Mustn’ts.” Your advice doesn’t have to be for children if you don’t want it to be. It doesn’t have to be kind advice either. You could write a poem advising people to get their shit together if you’d like. The advice and age group that your advising will probably give you an idea of other parts of the poem though, like the tone, word choice, and form. Think about the type of advice you wish other people had given you throughout your life or the bad advice you’ve been given if you need further inspiration.